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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28828707">"Hanging Out"</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/HashtagLEH/pseuds/HashtagLEH'>HashtagLEH</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Something Like a Family [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stranger Things (TV 2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Accidental Babysitter Billy Hargrove, Accidental Babysitter Steve Harrington, Babysitter Billy Hargrove, Babysitter Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove &amp; Maxine "Max" Mayfield Have a Good Relationship, Billy Hargrove Has a Crush on Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove is a Little Shit, Billy follows rules exactly, Billy has secrets, Eleven | Jane Hopper &amp; Maxine "Max" Mayfield Friendship, Gay Billy Hargrove, Gen, M/M, Parental Jim "Chief" Hopper, Pre-Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Protective Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrington Has a Crush on Billy Hargrove, Which is to say not at all, Wingwoman Max Mayfield, but readers will see the signs, in summary:, no one tell Steve, not that Billy knows it yet, one of them being that he loves Jane Austen, or at least okay at this point, she just wants boys to stop being dumb, she's super supportive and I love her</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:47:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,723</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28828707</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/HashtagLEH/pseuds/HashtagLEH</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“So now I’m not involved with that crowd, I just don’t get into as much shit,” Steve said with a shrug. “And adults just think I’ve grown up, or cleaned up my act.”</p><p>Billy, who had been leaning over at that very moment to light the end of Steve’s joint with his Zippo, pointedly paused and raised an eyebrow at him.</p><p>Steve laughed and leaned forward a little with the joint between his lips, lighting the end of it himself before using thumb and forefinger to pull it from his mouth. Smoke puffed out between pink lips as he said, “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”</p><p>Billy smirked a little and pulled his gaze away from those lips. Steve probably had no idea how true his words were.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Billy Hargrove &amp; Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Billy Hargrove &amp; Steve Harrington, Eleven | Jane Hopper &amp; Billy Hargrove, Eleven | Jane Hopper &amp; Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Eleven | Jane Hopper &amp; Steve Harrington, pre- Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Something Like a Family [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009263</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>195</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>"Hanging Out"</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I think this may be the longest I've gone in a few years where I'm not posting <em>something</em> every few days or so. I just logged into one of my old fanfiction accounts to try picking up a forgotten/on-hiatus fic over there, and after reading the reviews since the last time I logged in I was...not doing well. (*suicide trigger*: If you hate a story so much that you feel the need to tell the author to kill themselves, I say this with my whole heart: fuck you. You need serious help.)</p><p>I didn't feel okay enough after the slew of abuse from multiple people to write <em>any</em> fic. And then I got in a bad car accident and couldn't be on my computer for extended lengths of time, so schoolwork had to take precedence once I could be on the computer at all. I'm still not 100% and expect at least another month of having to take it easy (because after the accident I fell down the stairs <em>and</em> slipped in ice and cracked my head, making the concussion from the accident worse), but I am feeling a bit better and can do more writing now. </p><p>Thank you everyone who has read so far, especially to those who leave kind reviews when you're done! I hope this one is just as well-received. :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Billy struggled to keep his eyes open as he walked down the hall to his locker. The last time he had even sort of slept had been in Chicago, in the early, early hours of Sunday, and it had been anything but restful. And then he didn’t even want to think about the night before, how it had been taken up with destroying the monsters’ nest and fighting for his life and the lives of the little shits that had insisted on going into those damned tunnels. There had been no time for sleep, and when they had gotten back earlier that morning, he had known that if he went to bed that he wouldn’t be able to get up again for school. He was already on thin ice with Neil, and he didn’t want to make it worse if his dad decided that he was being lazy.</p><p>He blew out a tired breath as he reached his locker, opening it with a little more force than necessary but hardly noticing in his fatigue. As he grabbed his calculus book from the stack inside, he tried not to think about the morning; Neil finding him waiting in the kitchen, showered and ready for school but having not seen him or Max the night before. Billy had known what was coming, had already made up something about how he had gotten caught up at a classmate’s party and Max had fallen asleep at her friend’s house and it was 100% Billy‘s fault, yes sir, he’s sorry, he won’t do this again, he will be better, he will watch out for Max better, yes sir, he will learn respect and responsibility... </p><p>It honestly hadn’t been as bad as Billy had expected, though he knew that he couldn’t really expect that the punishment was all over now because of that. A couple of blows to his torso and a knock to the head, a twisted wrist that was just short of sprained. He hadn’t wanted to be around Neil for any longer, and despite the fact that he hadn’t eaten anything, he went out to his car to wait for Max to be ready for school.</p><p>That was when Billy‘s expectations had been completely derailed, and he had realized that Max really had no idea the scope and breadth not only of what she had done back in California, but what the interpersonal home life truly consisted of all the time.</p><p>It was when Max had begun getting teary though that it finally seemed to hit him for real that <em>she was just a kid</em>.  He had had the same thought several times over the past few days, having been forced to think about it when he was around El because of the things she brought out in him, but seeing how desperate Max was for him to believe that she really was sorry while simultaneously not expecting anything remotely good from him, he had thought that his heart might crack in two. He’d tried to hold onto the anger, because it was familiar to him now, and he didn’t really know what to do without it, but it had slipped through his fingers like water and he just felt so <em>tired</em>, wanted things to go back to normal. At least where Max was concerned.</p><p>He didn’t know how they could go back to normal now, though. They weren’t in California anymore, and now they knew about monsters, and everything was just so <em>different</em> he could scream. But at least he and Max wouldn’t be at each others’ throats anymore.</p><p>“You look like shit.”</p><p>Billy was startled at the familiar voice speaking right behind him, but he was well-versed in hiding his body‘s physical reactions and so he refrained from jumping, instead turning and raising a single eyebrow at Steve Harrington.</p><p>He didn’t know what he might have expected from the guy just hours after they had beaten a bunch of demodogs together. He hadn’t truly thought that it would mean friendship or even really civility, because it had been a matter of happenstance, rather than a conscious choice, that had brought them side-by-side with a bat full of nails and a tire iron against a horde of the monsters. Billy would have thought that Steve didn’t even really like him before the night before, so he wouldn’t have blamed him if they went back to their normal. Whatever constituted as normal these days, anyway. Billy wasn’t sure what he might have done if Steve just gave him his usual dry stare when Billy goaded him in basketball later. It would just be too surreal. </p><p>But it appeared he would never have to worry about that, because Steve was looking at him without an ounce of hostility; actually, his look was a little concerned and perhaps a little too knowing as his eyes tracked over the blossoming bruise on the side of Billy‘s face. Billy braced himself for the question, or the accusation, ready to spout the lie that it had come from one of the monsters earlier, but he was going to let people at school think that he had gotten in a fight at a bar or something, just to give it more authenticity – but then Steve’s eyes flickered away from the bruise to look at <em>Billy</em> expectantly instead.</p><p>All of this occurred in the brief moment after Steve spoke, so when Billy responded it hadn’t been quite long enough a pause to be awkward yet.</p><p>“Back at you, Harrington,” he said with one of his usual smirks, eyes cutting up and down Harrington’s exhausted-looking form. He definitely looked better than Billy felt, but that wasn’t really saying much. Bags had formed under his eyes like bruises, the eyes themselves bloodshot and dulled with fatigue, something haunted in their depths that Billy wished he didn’t know the reason for while simultaneously wanting to take it away, take it on himself if it would make <em>Steve</em> feel better. He at least looked clean though, probably having grabbed a shower before school that was warmer than the one Billy had experienced, if the pink in his cheeks was anything to go by.</p><p>Steve scoffed at Billy’s words and ran a hand over his hair. “Bite me, Hargrove, I look <em>fabulous</em>.”</p><p><em>You look beautiful,</em> Billy thought unwillingly, and then shoved the thought ruthlessly away. He turned away so that he didn’t have to look at Steve, slamming his locker closed and not bothering with the combination because already he was someone that no one was there to mess with so he felt confident that his locker would be fine.</p><p>“So,” Steve started again, and Billy belatedly realized that this time he had let the silence go on a little too long and now Steve was filling it, sounding a little uncertain but pressing on anyway. “I was thinking of going to the quarry after school. There’s not usually anyone there this late in the year, so it’s a good place to go smoke.”</p><p>Billy raised an eyebrow, caught up in the curve of Steve’s cheekbone enough that he thought it might be to blame for not picking up Steve’s cues as he spoke.</p><p>“And?” He prodded when Steve didn’t continue, having stopped talking to look at him expectantly. “What’s that got to do with me?”</p><p>Steve sighed with exasperation and rolled his eyes, hitching his backpack higher on his shoulder. “<em>So</em>, asshole,” he said, sounding more amused than annoyed, “I wondered if you wanted to meet me there. Smoke some of the weed I’ve got hidden in my glove box.”</p><p>(Billy‘s heart stuttered, stopped, and then started up again more rapidly than before. He told himself to calm the fuck down, because bros went out smoking together all the time, and this was nothing to be excited over. This was not a <em>date</em>, and it would do his traitorous heart well to remember that.)</p><p>“Sure,” he said with a sigh like he was put upon, and began walking down the hall when the bell rang. “But if you have anything less than the <em>good</em> shit, I’m leaving.”</p><p>Steve laughed, the fucker. It was a small one, just a huff really, but the amusement was clear, lightening the lines of his face for a moment. “If it’s not the good shit, is it even worth smoking?”</p><p>***</p><p>Billy appeared that afternoon, a case of beers on the floor of the passenger side as he pulled his car up alongside Steve’s. He wasn’t sure whether they’d drink it, or even if Steve would <em>want</em> to, but he figured it was like bringing a dish to a group dinner – an offering for the host.</p><p>Steve was sitting on the hood of his car when Billy arrived, so Billy shut off his own car and climbed out, hopping up beside the other boy and shivering a little as the cold metal seeped through the back of his pants.</p><p>“Hey,” Steve greeted him, glancing over. “Was starting to think you’d decided against coming.”</p><p>“Had a couple of pit stops on the way,” Billy huffed, and rubbed his hands together. “It’s cold as shit out here.”</p><p>“Well, the grass should warm you up, then,” Steve said, grabbing for the bag of weed and papers sitting next to him. Billy watched him roll the joint with expert care, quick movements that showed how familiar he was with the process. He tore his eyes away when he saw his pink tongue swipe over the paper, and grabbed the stuff to roll his own joint.</p><p>“I half expected yours to fall apart,” Billy admitted a few moments later as he leaned back on the car, bracing himself on one arm while he held the joint to his lips with the other hand.</p><p>“I learned how to roll a joint when I was twelve,” Steve said dryly, but he didn’t seem offended.</p><p>Billy waved a hand at him. “That’s what I mean, man. It doesn’t go with your whole good-boy image. I mean, you wear <em>sweaters</em>, for fuck’s sake.”</p><p>Steve shrugged, exhaling in a cloud of smoke and fog from the cold air. “Keeps adults from being suspicious, at least.”</p><p>“You do have that going for you,” Billy agreed, tilting his head. “Preppy and innocent. Still though, I’ve heard the stories. Mostly from Tommy H, because that fucker never stops talking about you. How on earth did you fool everyone?”</p><p>“I wasn’t…” Steve started, and then stopped, blowing out a breath. Billy stayed quiet while Steve gathered his thoughts, and a moment later Steve continued, “I used to care about all that high school top dog shit, you know? Last year I kind of had it slapped in my face how much of a complete douche I was.”</p><p>“The Upside-Down shit?” Billy guessed, inhaling from his joint again. Steve hadn’t lied – this was certainly quality goods.</p><p>Steve tilted his head back and forth. “Sort of. Tangentially, at least. When I was dating Nancy, I saw her with Jonathan and thought she was – with him, or something. Cheating on me. And I was King Steve, you know? Not used to being cheated on, or being told ‘no’. And I was mad, and – we went and spray-painted all over the movie theater that she was a slut. It was Carol’s idea, but I went along with it because I <em>wanted </em>to hurt her.</p><p>“And it did. She and Jonathan showed up while we were in the alley out back, and she couldn’t tell me what she’d been doing when I saw her, because she was trying to keep anyone else out of the Upside-Down stuff. And Jonathan was more concerned about her feelings than the fact that we’d sprayed insults about him everywhere too, and he was just trying to get her away from me. And I was pissed, because here’s this guy who’d always followed her and watched her and took pictures of me and Nancy when we were in my room, and she preferred him over me, so I started goading him as they were walking away.</p><p>“And it worked. We got in a fight. I realized about halfway through how much of an asshole <em>I </em>was being, despite having the shit punched out of me at the time. Guess I needed it knocked into my head <em>physically</em>.” He smirked a little at that, scornfully almost. “So I went later to Jonathan’s house to apologize to him, but Nancy was there too – turns out they were setting a trap for the demogorgon. And they tried to get me out, but I stayed and fought it with them – Jonathan was the one to make that bat with the nails in it; he said I could keep it afterward, since I seemed to know what I was doing with it.”</p><p>“No shit,” Billy agreed, going to roll another joint when he ran out of his first one. “So now you’re all friends now.”</p><p>Steve tilted his head. “I suppose so,” he said. “Fighting monsters together is kind of a bonding experience.”</p><p>Billy smirked at Steve, trying not to notice how the weed was making Steve’s eyes go relaxed and heavy-lidded. “Guess that says something for us, then,” he blurted, and blamed his loose tongue on the weed.</p><p>“Hm,” Steve hummed with a smirk. “Logically this means you’re gonna bond with the kids too. If you haven’t already, anyway.”</p><p>“Fuck me,” Billy groaned in faux horror.</p><p>Steve laughed, his expression lighter than it had been moments before when he was sharing the events of last year. He inhaled the last of his joint before flicking the end away into the snow.</p><p>“So you just really don’t care about high school anymore,” Billy supposed, passing the papers over to Steve so he could roll another.</p><p>Steve shrugged, while pressing the weed into a line inside the paper. “After facing a monster from a parallel universe and learning that an eleven-year-old can move things with her mind because of evil government experiments from birth? English and basketball just don’t seem to matter anymore.”</p><p>“I get that,” Billy mused.</p><p>“So now I’m not involved with that crowd, I just don’t get into as much shit,” Steve said with a shrug. “And adults just think I’ve grown up, or cleaned up my act.”</p><p>Billy, who had been leaning over at that very moment to light the end of Steve’s joint with his Zippo, pointedly paused and raised an eyebrow at him.</p><p>Steve laughed and leaned forward a little with the joint between his lips, lighting the end of it himself before using thumb and forefinger to pull it from his mouth. Smoke puffed out between pink lips as he said, “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”</p><p>Billy smirked a little and pulled his gaze away from those lips. Steve probably had no idea how true his words were.</p><p>***</p><p>Billy hadn’t been thinking things through, and so it took longer than it probably should have to realize that he couldn’t exactly pop in to check on El after parting ways with Steve. Not as high as he was off the quality weed. Anyone else, maybe – but this was the Chief of Police and he didn’t want to be drawing any ire from the guy.</p><p>“I’m pretty sure Hop wouldn’t arrest you,” Steve told him when he pulled the information out of Billy – damn his loose lips when he was high. It had taken only two questions for him to tell the other boy his plans. “He’s pretty chill about stuff like that.”</p><p>“It’s one thing to know in <em>theory</em> that I was getting high – it’s another for me to show up stoned with his daughter there,” Billy scoffed. “Dude’s protective.”</p><p>Steve tilted his head in acquiescence. “Valid. You could go after school tomorrow, then; not a big deal.”</p><p>Billy scoffed again. “Not gonna wait <em>that</em> long – I’ll just ditch first period.” He bit his tongue then, because he hadn’t meant to blurt that out – making himself look so antsy and worried that he couldn’t wait a few more hours.</p><p>Steve smirked a little. “She must be a special little lady,” he teased.</p><p>“El is a fucking <em>badass</em>,” Billy huffed. “You would understand if you knew her.”</p><p>“Well, maybe I’ll tag along with you, then – who needs Spanish, anyway?” Steve said, like it was nothing to invite himself along.</p><p>On one hand, Billy wanted to shut down the idea, because he didn’t want Steve to see him interacting with El – he was self-aware enough to know that he became putty around the girl, and that would be a little embarrassing for the other boy to discover. On the other hand though, it would mean that he could spend more time with Steve, and he wasn’t even the one to suggest it so he still had his pride there. Besides, Steve was sure to see him around El at some point anyway, so what could the harm really be?</p><p>So, just to be a little shit, he said, “<em>Te sorprendería de saber con qué frecuencia ser bilingue es un beneficio</em>.”</p><p>Steve gaped at him, and the clear fluency with which he spoke. “You know Spanish?” he demanded.</p><p>Billy gave him a look, even as he laughed a little. “I lived in LA for sixteen years, of <em>course</em> I know Spanish.”</p><p>“Well then you can teach me anything I miss when I ditch it tomorrow,” Steve decided, shaking off his surprise.</p><p>Billy chuckled. “Fair enough.”</p><p>And so it was that the next day, after dropping off Max at school, he waited for Steve in the parking lot before taking off. He raised an eyebrow when he saw him dropping off Dustin at the doors – he was pretty sure that that was a new development, not to mention the fact that Billy was pretty sure Dustin lived closer to the Hargrove residence than Harrington’s, and was therefore on the opposite end of town, so it wasn’t exactly a <em>convenient </em>drive – but he didn’t say anything about it when Steve parked in the spot next to him before sliding into the passenger seat of Billy’s car.</p><p>“<em>Fuck</em>, it’s cold,” Steve said with a shudder, shoving his hands in front of the heater.</p><p>Billy raised an eyebrow at him before turning to look in the rear window while he backed out of the spot. “You had no problem with it while we were <em>freezing our asses off </em>yesterday,” he reminded him pointedly.</p><p>“Yeah, well, we were getting baked then, weren’t we?” Steve shot back. “Also, at least it was dry yesterday – now we have this weird mist to deal with. This time of year <em>sucks</em>.”</p><p>“You’ll get no arguments from me there,” Billy agreed. A moment later it occurred to him that they were literally talking about the <em>weather</em>, and he shook his head to himself and quickly changed the subject. “So are you babysitting Curly now? Is that a thing?”</p><p>“Dustin?” Steve clarified with slight confusion, but didn’t wait for Billy’s confirmation before he said, “Yeah, I guess. His mom got a new regular shift assignment at work, and I guess usually he would get a ride from Jonathan, but they’re sort of out of the way, especially with going to get Nancy and Mike now, so he asked if I would take him.”</p><p>“Don’t you live on like, the <em>other </em>side of town?” Billy asked him with a squinted look before he turned back to look at the road. “Still sounds out of the way to me.”</p><p>Steve shrugged, and Billy noted vaguely that the boy’s cheeks were turning a little red. “I don’t mind it, really. It’s not like I’m doing anything else – and Dustin is pretty cool.”</p><p>“I’ll take your word for it,” Billy said dryly, because as far as he had seen so far, Dustin was the most talkative and <em>annoying </em>out of all of them.</p><p>“It’s not like it’s going to be an everyday thing, anyway,” Steve went on, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself.</p><p>Billy snorted, loudly and obviously. “Yeah, take it from me, Harrington. Those kids are <em>leeches</em>; or maybe tapeworms. They latch on and they get inside, and then they <em>never leave</em>. I’ve already got four of them. There’s no getting rid of them at this point.”</p><p>“Four?”</p><p>“Yeah – Max, El, Mike, and Will. <em>Leeches</em>. I would say get out while you can, but you’re in too deep already. You’re <em>stuck</em> with the little shits.”</p><p>“You don’t actually sound too disappointed by that,” Steve pointed out smugly. Billy grumbled under his breath, but he didn’t actually deny it, something he was certain Steve had noticed, though he was kind enough not to point it out.</p><p>“I thought you hated Max, though,” Steve said a moment later, thoughtful frown crossing his face.</p><p>Billy gave him a weird look, even while his heart gave a little lurch that the (now) past problems between the two of them had been bad enough that even <em>Steve </em>had found out about it. “No. She’s my sister.”</p><p>“Sorry, I don’t have siblings, so I don’t know how everything works,” Steve said like he was confessing something shameful. “The closest I had was Tommy, but I’m pretty sure he hates my guts now, and I heard Max talking at the junkyard about you so I didn’t think you guys were all that close.”</p><p>Billy glanced over at him in confusion. “Junkyard? When were you guys at the junkyard?”</p><p>“Sunday?” Steve said like he was reminding him of something he should have known. Billy looked at him blankly, wordlessly demanding further explanation, to which Steve obliged. “Me and Dustin led the demodogs there, and Max and Lucas met up with us.”</p><p>Billy swerved, and would have wrapped his car around a tree if he hadn’t recovered just in time, curses falling from his lips. Steve was gripping the door, other hand held to his chest while he stared at the road with wide eyes as Billy continued driving.</p><p>“Jesus <em>Christ</em>,” Steve breathed.</p><p>But Billy wasn’t paying him any attention, because his mind was spinning with what Steve had revealed, heart pounding with the memory of his own experience beating a demodog off in front of the Byers house and then preparing to meet the horde of them in the tunnels. “Max was fighting with <em>demodogs</em>?” he demanded harshly. “What the <em>fuck</em>?”</p><p>“I mean, it was more me that was fighting with them,” Steve said, still sounding stunned from their near crash. “They stayed in the bus. And to be fair, we were only expecting Dart to show up because Dustin had been keeping him as a pet”—what the <em>fuck</em>—“and we hadn’t expected that they’d reproduced into a few dozen…” He broke off with a curse when Billy swerved to the side of the road, but this time it was intentional as Billy threw the car into park and jumped out.</p><p>He paced the length of the car one, two, three times before he got back into the car, settling into his seat but not driving away just yet. Steve watched him quietly the whole time, apparently calming from the previous reckless driving but not sure how to deal with Billy being manic.</p><p>Billy took a deep breath, let it out slowly. “You and Dustin led the demodogs to the junkyard. Max and Lucas showed up. The demodogs attacked. What then?”</p><p>“Well, we hunkered down in an old school bus,” Steve said cautiously. “They were called away to protect the gate. That’s when we all went to the lab, and we met all the rest of them there. We went back to the Byers’ house after that, and you and El showed up a little while later.”</p><p>Billy nodded several times, processing all that as he did, and then he very calmly put the car into drive and pulled back onto the road, continuing toward Hopper’s cabin.</p><p>“I am going to kill her for almost getting herself killed by those things,” Billy said flatly, staring at the road in front of them and not unaware of the irony in his promise.</p><p>“Sorry man, I thought you knew all that already,” Steve said apologetically. “But we <em>are </em>fine. She didn’t even get a scratch.”</p><p>“That’s the only reason I’m not turning around right now to deal with her,” Billy told him airily.</p><p>“Also because you want to check on El,” Steve guessed.</p><p>Billy nodded grudgingly. “That’s probably a factor, too.”</p><p>“And because you don’t <em>actually </em>hate her.”</p><p>“No,” Billy cut him a look. “I don’t – you can ask her and everything.”</p><p>“And because you’d really rather give her a big hug than a big ass-kicking.”</p><p>Billy sighed loudly, very exaggeratedly aggrieved at Steve’s teasing. “Alright, you little shit,” he griped. “No need to go spreading that around.”</p><p>“That underneath the bad-boy exterior, Billy Hargrove is a big softie?” Steve said brightly, and then had the audacity to <em>laugh</em> at Billy’s glare, the fucker. “Nah, your secret’s safe with me. Promise.”</p><p>They got to Hopper’s cabin a few minutes later, minutes filled thankfully with innocuous conversation that <em>didn’t </em>cause Billy to want to go tearing back to the middle school to assure himself again that Max was <em>fine</em>. He knew it was illogical; he’d seen her thirty minutes ago and she’d been antsy to get to class, but still he wanted to see proof again after the discovery that she had actually been in more danger than he had previously thought – especially considering the fact that Billy had been in <em>Chicago </em>at the time. He couldn’t help thinking that maybe if they’d been on better terms at the time that she would have told him what was going on when he called on the road, and maybe he could have done something then.</p><p>But those were worries and wonderings to deal with on his own time, preferably not with anyone else around, so he pushed aside the thoughts as he pulled up the barely-there road that led to Hopper’s cabin.</p><p>He blinked in surprise when he saw that Hopper’s police Blazer was sitting right outside the cabin, and double-checked the time. Nope, Hopper was definitely supposed to have been at work by now. Was something wrong with El? Was there complications after she had closed the gate, that Billy just hadn’t heard about?</p><p>Fighting against the urge to rush out of his Camaro and into the cabin, he climbed out of the car at a normal speed, Steve mirroring his positions on the other side.</p><p>“Watch the wire,” Billy said absently, as he stepped over it himself. He heard Steve mutter a brief “what the hell” under his breath, but a moment later he was walking at his side, so he hadn’t tripped over it at least as Billy had half expected, despite the warning.</p><p>When they got to the door, Billy briefly worried about Hopper being there, because he’d never been inside the cabin at the same time as Hopper and didn’t know how the guy might react. After all, two older teenage boys were coming to visit a twelve-year-old girl in the middle of the woods – despite the fact that Hopper sort of knew them by now, that meant nothing to protective instincts.</p><p>But he shoved that aside, because he really did want to make sure El was okay after the weekend, and raised his hand to the door, knocking three times.</p><p>A moment later the door swung open wide, and he was staring down the barrel of a gun a mere two inches from his face, causing him to immediately and instinctively raise his hands. Beside him, Steve made a noise of surprise, pulling his hands from his coat pockets to do the same.</p><p>“Jesus <em>Christ</em>,” Billy groused as Hopper lowered the rifle upon seeing who they were. “Getting tired of having weapons shoved in my face in this town.”</p><p>“We need to teach you the secret knock,” was all Hopper said, stepping back in wordless invitation for them to come inside. Billy went in first, eyes searching the room immediately for El, and Steve followed right behind.</p><p>“Hey, Steve,” Hopper greeted as Steve passed.</p><p>“Hey, Chief,” Steve said back. “We just came to check on El – is she okay?”</p><p>Hopper didn’t get a chance to answer as the door to the back room opened, and the curly-headed girl came out. Billy ruthlessly squashed the relieved thought that she looked more like herself now, punk makeup removed and hair fluffy again around her face, and instead of the black jacket she wore another one of Hopper’s old flannel shirts. She looked her actual age with this, rather than a kid playing dress-up.</p><p>“Billy!” El greeted in a delighted voice, darting forward and throwing her arms around Billy’s middle in a tight hug. Billy stumbled back a little at the force of it, and wondered where to put his hands at first before he settled them on her shoulders and gave them a pat.</p><p>“Hey, kid,” he greeted as she pulled back. “You alright?”</p><p>El nodded, and upon inspection the circles under her eyes did seem to be a bit darker to show lack of enough sleep, but she definitely had more energy than the last time he’d seen her, so she was clearly on the mend.</p><p>“Healing takes time,” she said, and it sounded like something she’d had to repeat a few times by then, and was disgruntled a little at that fact.</p><p>“That it does,” Billy agreed, the pain in his cracked ribs flaring up a little at the reminder. (It had been almost a month since they’d been injured, and they were definitely better than those first few days, but still any sudden or strong movements sent pain racing through the area again.)</p><p>“So what are you still doing here, Chief?” Billy questioned, turning to the older man watching the exchange with an expression Billy didn’t know how to interpret. “Don’t you typically go to work earlier than this?”</p><p>Hopper colored a little, looking sheepish, before he visibly squashed it a moment later, saying, “I didn’t want to leave El alone while she was recovering. Last time I left her alone she disappeared to <em>Chicago </em>with a boy I had met <em>once</em>.”</p><p>Billy rolled his eyes a little. “She was <em>fine</em>,” he stressed. “El is a badass, and doesn’t need anyone’s help. And if she did, I was <em>right there</em>.”</p><p>El was beaming at him – he didn’t know if it was the praise in her abilities, or the reassurance that he’d been there and ready to help, but he supposed it didn’t really matter.</p><p>“You guys were in <em>Chicago</em>?” Steve repeated, sounding confused. “Why?”</p><p>El’s gaze turned to Steve, and Billy abruptly remembered that although they had been in the same room when planning how to close the gate, there hadn’t been any actual introductions made, so really she was meeting Steve for the first time now.</p><p>So, he ignored Steve’s question and said to El, “Kid, you remember Steve? He wanted to meet you officially.”</p><p>El’s expression lit up with joy. “New friend?” she said excitably, practically vibrating in place.</p><p>“Uh – yeah,” Billy said, and it seemed that was all El needed, because a moment later she was darting past Billy to hug Steve, who looked overwhelmed at the sudden acceptance and adoption El gave him. He glared a little at Billy, who was laughing at the scene, but he patted her shoulders in much the same way Billy had minutes before.</p><p>“Uh, hi,” he said. “Eleven – El?”</p><p>“El, or Jane,” El said, pulling back to look up at him. “You helped my friends.”</p><p>“Uh – yeah, I guess,” Steve said, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. “Tried to, anyway.”</p><p>“Hey, this is good that you two are here,” Hopper said, pulling their attention away. “I don’t want to leave El alone, but I do need to make an appearance at work so that people don’t get suspicious. I can leave you two to watch her until I get back.”</p><p>His words were met with immediate protest by, surprisingly, all three of them.</p><p>“I don’t need to be <em>watched</em>,” El said with a pout.</p><p>“I am not your <em>babysitter</em>,” Billy started, while Steve insisted, “It’s a school day!”</p><p>Hopper focused on Steve’s statement, giving him a flat, unimpressed look. “You <em>already</em> ditched school – and ditching is not out of the norm for you Steve Harrington, so don’t pretend like this isn’t old hat for you.”</p><p>Steve looked vaguely sheepish. “I guess you have a point,” he mumbled.</p><p>“And you’re not babysitting if you’re <em>friends</em>,” Hopper said to Billy with a smugly raised eyebrow. “You’re ‘hanging out’.”</p><p>“Chief, I smoke cigarettes and weed with my friends,” Billy drawled. “Occasionally we drink alcohol. I would not do <em>any </em>of those things with a twelve-year-old.”</p><p>“Then fine, you’re babysitting,” Hopper said, unbothered at the admitted underage substance use and abuse, which was a little surprising, if Billy was being honest. “Consider it payback for scaring the life out of me when you took my daughter to Chicago for the weekend without a word.”</p><p>“I don’t need a <em>babysitter</em>,” El said, very aggrieved.</p><p>“Next time you run away, leave a note behind,” Hopper advised. “What am I saying – you’re not <em>going </em>to run away again.” Ignoring further protests, he grabbed his hat off the hook by the door. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t go to Chicago in the meantime.”</p><p>The front door closed with an air of finality as he left. They all quietly looked between each other, uncertain what to do now. This was certainly <em>not</em> how Billy had expected his day to go. He looked at El, and noticed the sleeves of her old flannel rolled up at least three times and still hanging almost to the tips of her fingers. It gave him a sudden idea, one that would take care of two problems in one.</p><p>“Well, fuck this,” Billy declared. “We don’t have to stay holed up in the cabin this whole time. El, get your shoes.”</p><p>El immediately darted off to her room, unquestioning in the face of his planning. Steve looked at Billy curiously. “Where are we going?”</p><p>“Indianapolis,” Billy said smugly. “It’s not Chicago.”</p><p>***</p><p>Steve was the one to insist they leave a note in case Hopper came back early, despite El parroting Billy’s rule about leaving notes to the both of them. Billy supposed that in this case, he had to grudgingly admit that Steve had the right idea, because Hopper would be more worried than angry if he returned to find them gone, and he didn’t really want to incite <em>that </em>again. Not after the events of the last week.</p><p>So Steve scrawled out a quick note that he left on the kitchen table, and then they all piled into Billy’s Camaro.</p><p>It was once they were on the road that Billy frowned to himself, realizing he should have used the phone back at Hopper’s cabin. Although come to think of it, he wasn’t sure Hopper <em>had </em>a phone hooked up there. Paranoia, and all that. He pulled off on the side of the road next to a payphone, grabbing a couple of dimes from his cup holder and going to the box.</p><p>Luckily there was a phone book there, which looked a couple of years outdated, but he found the number for the school at least, which he was pretty certain wouldn’t have changed since the phone book had been printed.</p><p>“Hawkins Middle School,” a friendly voice chirped on the other end.</p><p>“Hi, this is Neil Hargrove,” Billy said smoothly, imitating his dad’s voice with perfection, if he did say so himself. Charming, with just the right amount of oiliness – the way he sounded in public. “A family thing came up at home, and I’ll need to pull Max Mayfield out for the rest of the day. I sent my son Billy out to get her – he should be there in a few minutes.”</p><p>“Of course, Mr. Hargrove, she’ll be waiting in the front office,” the secretary responded. “Is everything alright at home?”</p><p>“Oh, yes,” Billy said quickly. “She’ll be back in school tomorrow, no worries. Thank you so much for your help.”</p><p>“Of course,” the secretary said, and hung up. Billy blew out a breath and hung up the phone on his end before leaving the booth and going back to the car.</p><p>“El, you remember Max?” Billy said to the girl in the backseat as he pulled back onto the road.</p><p>El nodded solemnly. “Don’t like her,” she remembered, displeased frown crossing her face. “Mad at her.”</p><p>Billy winced a little, ignoring the look Steve was giving him. “Well, not anymore,” he explained. “We solved things – she said sorry.”</p><p>“Friends again?” El asked him, looking a little confused.</p><p>Billy huffed a little, because what was it about El that he always had to talk about his <em>feelings </em>with her?</p><p>“Yeah, I guess,” he said quickly. “We’re gonna pick her up – she’s gonna spend the day with us too, alright? You two can be friends.”</p><p>El frowned a little, settling back in her seat but not saying anything in protest. Billy glanced at her a few times as he drove, because he couldn’t tell if she was being obstinate about becoming friends with Max or if she was just thinking.</p><p>Max was waiting in the front office as promised, looking a little worried when he saw her. She watched him expectantly when he walked through the doors, but didn’t say anything to her yet, going to the secretary instead to sign her out.</p><p>As soon as the door closed behind them, Max was rapping out questions without giving him the chance to respond. “Is everything okay? Are <em>you </em>okay? Mrs. Beckett said there was a family emergency – did something happen with Neil?”</p><p>“Max, shut up a minute,” Billy interrupted, rolling his eyes. “Everything’s fine, I just wanted to pull you out but didn’t want them to call home that you’re ditching.”</p><p>Max blinked. “Wait, really? Why are you pulling me out early? I saw you barely an hour ago.” Then her gaze fell on the Camaro a couple of parking spaces away, and saw Steve in the passenger seat. Immediately her eyes widened and she swung her gaze back up to Billy. “Is it something with the Upside-Down?” she hissed, glancing around like there might be someone hiding in the parking lot, listening in.</p><p>“Christ, Max, it’s just a field trip day; calm down,” Billy sighed. “I brought El along, too – she’s in the back seat.”</p><p>Max stopped walking, expression going a little uncomfortable. When Billy realized she’d stopped walking he stopped too, ready to ask what was taking her so long, but Max spoke before he could.</p><p>“If you have El, why did you come and get me?” she demanded suspiciously. “We’re not even friends.”</p><p>“Well, you’re going to <em>become </em>friends,” Billy said with exaggerated patience. He really just wanted to get back in the car – it was <em>freezing </em>out here, and he missed the heater. “You need a girl friend, anyway.”</p><p>“I <em>have </em>friends,” Max insisted, stubbornly remaining in place on the sidewalk.</p><p>“And those friends are friends with El too, so you’re going to end up interacting with her anyway,” Billy pointed out. “Also, you missed the part where I said <em>girl </em>friend. You hang out with four boys, which is <em>fine</em>, but at your age you need some variety for when they start acting like early-teen douchebags.”</p><p>“<em>Start</em>,” Max snorted at his choice of words, and then, “El and I don’t even have anything in common. She’s – <em>girly</em>. She won’t even <em>want </em>to be my friend.”</p><p>“Well, I can think of a few things you have in common just off the top of my head,” Billy told her argumentatively, and started ticking them off on his fingers. “Both of you are <em>only </em>friends with those four dweebs. Both of you had shitty dads. Not Hopper,” he clarified at her startled look. “Both of you are starting at the high school next school year. Both of you are a pain in my ass and yet for some reason that doesn’t stop me from trying to help. Both of you <em>are </em>girls, and can talk about the kind of stuff that guys just don’t understand. <em>And</em>, both of you have <em>me </em>telling you that I’m not taking no for an answer – you will spend the day together, with me and Steve right there, and you will <em>like </em>it.” He finished off his counting with a flat glare. “Now get your ass in the car.”</p><p>Max huffed and uncrossed her arms, taking a step forward before stopping again and looking at him, looking uncertain and nervous, but like she was trying to hide it amidst her frustration. “Did you at least <em>tell </em>her that I was coming today?”</p><p>Billy snorted and started hustling to the Camaro again, expecting her to catch up, because he really did want to get back in the heated space again. “Of course – I’m not an <em>idiot</em>.”</p><p>***</p><p>The entire ride to Indianapolis was awkward, and it was entirely the fault of the two girls in the backseat who didn’t say a word to each other. Any time Billy or Steve tried to prompt conversation, they would give one-word answers and stare out the respective window they sat next to. Billy was exasperated, because he <em>wanted </em>them to get along and be friends, not just because it would make life easier for him but also because he knew both of them needed it.</p><p>Steve kept shooting him looks that were either amused or sympathetic or lost or some combination of all three, which Billy just returned with exasperated ones of his own but otherwise didn’t address.</p><p>He had intended to stay with the girls, but when he pulled into the parking lot of the mall in Indianapolis, he had the thought that perhaps that would make things even more difficult or awkward. So, as soon as they reached the entrance of the mall, El looking overwhelmed as she looked at all the people doing their Christmas shopping, Billy stopped them and pulled out his wallet.</p><p>“Here,” he said, giving each of them a couple of twenties. Max looked shocked at the amount, because she knew its purchasing power more than El did, who just looked at the bills curiously. “Meet back here at two-thirty and not a minute later.” He wondered if Max or El would have the idea to buy some clothes with it, which was his original intent in coming here, but he supposed if it meant they could be friends then it would be worth it anyway. Let them spend it on shitty food if they wanted, whatever.</p><p>“What are <em>you guys</em> going to do?” Max asked them, squinting at Billy and seemingly glaring at him for his plan at the same time. Whatever.</p><p>He looked at Steve, who was watching him with a look of amusement. “Oh, I’m sure we’ll figure something out,” Billy drawled, looking back at Max and then urging them along with shooing motions. “Go on. I don’t want to see your face for the next four hours.”</p><p>***</p><p>“So, what <em>are </em>we going to do for the next few hours?” Steve questioned him after they had separated from Max and El, raising an eyebrow. “Although don’t get me wrong, I’m <em>glad</em> I wasn’t dragged along to go shopping with a couple of twelve-year-olds, so thank you for saving my life. But what are your plans now?”</p><p>“Max is thirteen,” Billy corrected absently, looking at the mall map to see what was at their disposal. It was a lot smaller than the couple he used to go to all the time in LA, and many of them were variations of the same type store. <em>So </em>fucking boring. Not even a piercing parlor to spice things up.</p><p>“Like that makes any difference,” Steve snorted at Billy’s correction.</p><p>“True,” Billy allowed. “Shit, what’s up with you Indiana people and your food? You have <em>four </em>different pretzel places and not one but <em>two </em>Burger Kings in the same mall.”</p><p>“Indiana people are traditional,” Steve shrugged. “There’s supposed to be a mall opening up next summer in Hawkins with newer stuff in it.”</p><p>“Yippee,” Billy said dryly, turning away from the map. “Well, <em>you’ve</em> grown up here. What do you recommend?”</p><p>“I haven’t been here in a while, but I think I remember a movie theater just down the road,” Steve suggested. “That could kill a couple of hours. Could come back here after for lunch and the girls would probably be done by then.”</p><p>“Then by all means, save me from this hellhole,” Billy grinned.</p><p>***</p><p>They arrived just a few minutes before <em>Red Dawn </em>was scheduled to start. At first Billy blinked at it in confusion, because he was pretty sure that one had already <em>left</em> the movie theaters by the time they’d left LA, but he hadn’t seen it then so he supposed it didn’t matter.</p><p>He tried paying for the tickets, but Steve insisted that Billy had just dropped eighty dollars on the girls and had saved Steve from <em>that </em>shopping experience, so really he owed <em>him</em>, and Billy conceded that he may be right on that. It did start making him a little uncomfortable when Steve paid for drinks and popcorn too, but he told himself that it still didn’t come close to what Billy had already spent that day.</p><p>As they found their seats in the theater, he also had to continually remind himself that <em>this was not a date</em>. Sure, going to the movies <em>could </em>be seen as a normal first date, but friends did that too. Usually friends paid for themselves, but everyone knew the Harringtons were rich, so it probably meant much less to Steve to be paying for Billy too. He needed to stop getting the wrong idea.</p><p>The movie was entertaining, if only for the entire ridiculousness of it. The idea of the Russians invading, and a few <em>high schoolers </em>being able to stop it? It was absurd and a little delightful. The <em>movie </em>was delightful, he <strike>reminded</strike> clarified to himself – not Steve’s laughter or exaggerated horror throughout. Really, he was so invested in the movie that he hardly even <em>noticed</em> the other boy. Forgot he was there.</p><p>They went to Hot Dog on a Stick inside the mall for lunch, which might have implied that it was going to be a fast meal, but they ended up sitting on one of the benches, and once they started talking it was very easy to get caught up in it without noticing the time.</p><p>(At least, Billy thought so. Maybe Steve was just waiting for them to be done so they could go back to Hawkins.)</p><p>They didn’t really talk about anything important or personal. Steve asked him at one point what Billy had liked to do most in California, and Billy had waxed rhapsody about surfing for a solid ten minutes before he noticed the slightly amused look on Steve’s face. At first he’d wanted to be embarrassed, but when Steve prodded him to continue at his pause, he just shrugged mentally and started exaggerating his love for the waves and water, like he was in a Shakespeare play or some shit.</p><p>That had devolved into talking about English class, and Steve said how much he hated having to read <em>Persuasion </em>that semester, and Billy had <em>opinions </em>about Jane Austen, okay, but he firmly clamped down on his defense of her because <em>no one</em> – not even and maybe <em>especially</em> not Steve – needed to know how much he enjoyed reading chick romance novels. (He was self-aware enough to know that it was more because they reminded him of his mom than actual appreciation for the literature, but he couldn’t tell anyone <em>else </em>that. His reputation would never recover.)</p><p>They steered clear of anything to do with the Upside-Down, or monsters. They didn’t talk about life at home – either of them. Everything said was impersonal anecdotes or overheard rumors in school. Billy talked about the first time he got high, and how sick he was the next day, and Steve told him about when he got drunk with Tommy at some summer camp and how he was pretty sure his parents still thought he was inexperienced in drugs or alcohol.</p><p>Finally at some point Billy remembered the girls, and upon glancing at his watch he realized that it was a few minutes past two-thirty.</p><p>“Fuck, Max is going to give me shit for this,” Billy groaned, rising to his feet.</p><p>Steve shrugged. “If she’s so upset, she can walk,” he decided. At Billy’s slightly startled look, because he would expect that to come from <em>his </em>lips and not from someone as nice as Steve, he said, “You gave her a ride and a free pass for the afternoon. A few minutes won’t kill anyone.”</p><p>“I’ll let <em>you </em>be the one to tell her that,” Billy snorted as they walked toward the mall entrance. “I’m always giving <em>her</em> shit about being late.”</p><p>“And you’re her ride,” Steve said unrepentantly. “You can run on your own time.”</p><p>Billy snorted again, but when they reached the mall entrance, he was surprised when Max didn’t give him any grief about being six minutes late. If anything, she hardly acknowledged him – but it wasn’t because she was ignoring him. No, she was just deep in discussion with El and was more focused on that.</p><p>He looked at El, who looked calm and curious as she listened to Max, occasionally responding with her own comment. Before they noticed Steve and Billy making their way toward them, he was glad to see that she had indeed been clothed in things that seemed more <em>her</em>. He could see Max’s influence in the new Converse on her feet rather than the tatty ones she’d been wearing for who knew how long, while he also knew that the red pea coat was too girly for Max to decide on – that was all El’s doing. He had to admit that she looked <em>adorable</em> in it, and the dark curls peeking out from the white beanie on her head completed the look.</p><p>His expression was smug when he walked up to the two of them, and Max rolled her eyes immediately upon seeing it but surprisingly didn’t call him out on it.</p><p>“You two have fun?” he said without really asking, because he could see that they were much less like two cats getting to know each other and were more at ease with each other now, clearly having settled whatever differences they had and becoming friends.</p><p>“Yes,” El was the one to say, because she was okay with shoving aside her pride where Max wasn’t, and she beamed up at Billy. “We got clothes!”</p><p>“That’s a nice color on you,” Steve said beside him, sounding approving as well as charmed, which Billy could reluctantly relate to.</p><p>“I tried getting her to get a <em>warmer </em>one, but this one was prettier,” Max volunteered, giving Billy a look like she was telling him to play along, nodding a little to El who looked a little concerned at the reminder that the coat wouldn’t be too warm.</p><p>Billy was more than willing to play along though, and he suppressed a smirk at Max’s protectiveness for El’s feelings, saying with faux haughtiness instead, “Well, fashion prevails over comfort – El and me are of the few who realize that.” He looked pointedly at Steve’s puffer coat, which, while not <em>hideous</em>, was not something one wore unless it was solely for staying warm.</p><p>Steve’s mouth dropped open in mock outrage. “Are you saying my coat is <em>ugly</em>?”</p><p>Billy sniffed. “Well, it’s certainly not as attractive as <em>mine</em>,” he said, tugging at the lapels of the leather jacket he always wore.</p><p>“I don’t need to take this bullying,” Steve declared. “C’mon, Max. We can be sensible people elsewhere. Leave them to go find some photo shoot or something, because that’s all those jackets are good for.”</p><p>Max was smirking to hide her amusement – and not doing a very good job of it – as the two of them turned up their noses as they walked past Billy and El, going out the doors to the parking lot.</p><p>“We’ll meet you at the car after our photo shoot!” Billy called after them. Beside him, El giggled.</p><p>***</p><p>They got back to the school a little bit before four o’ clock, which was when the dweebs got out of their AV club. Billy had dropped Steve off back by his car so that Steve could still drive Dustin home. Max climbed up to the front as Steve got out, and Billy paused while she did so in favor of watching as Dustin came up to Steve, talking a mile a minute. Steve was smiling at the younger boy, looking fondly exasperated with the speed of his story – something about making a radio? – and Billy tore his gaze away after a beat too long.</p><p>Max was watching him with an odd look on her face – some cross between amused and pleased and knowing.</p><p>“What’s that look for?” he griped, pulling out of the school parking lot. She shrugged and didn’t say anything, so he said, “I suppose it went well with El.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, you told me so,” Max dismissed with a wave of her hand, uninterested in that line of conversation. “What did you and Steve do with your time?”</p><p>Billy glanced over at her, weirded out by the look on her face accompanied by her line of questioning. “Well, the mall had shitty options, so we went down the road to the movie theater. Grabbed hot dog on a stick for lunch and shot the breeze till we met up with you guys.”</p><p>Max hummed interestedly. “What movie did you see?”</p><p>“<em>Red Dawn</em>,” Billy responded, too confused to bother with snark. “Unrealistic movie, but not terrible. Indiana is a little behind on new movies.”</p><p>“Hm,” Max hummed again. “Did you guys hold hands?”</p><p>With that question Billy abruptly understood where she was going with this, and he frowned deeply, irritation rising in his gut as he glared at the road ahead of them.</p><p>“Two guys watching a movie together does not constitute a <em>date</em>, Maxine,” he told her, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. “It was that or shopping for clothes with you two.”</p><p>“But you <em>wanted </em>it to be a date,” Max prodded. “I mean, Steve is cute, I get it. So if it <em>wasn’t</em> a date, why don’t you ask him out on one?”</p><p>Billy shot her a heated glare. “Because we live in Assfuck Indiana where everyone knows everything, and I don’t feel like making the whole town turn into Neils that want to gang up and kill me to clear the pollution.” Max looked taken aback at his words, and he rolled his eyes, because surely she wasn’t <em>still </em>this naïve.</p><p>“Steve is nice – he wouldn’t tell anyone,” she argued. “Also, he likes you too.”</p><p>Billy blew out a gust of air. “Steve Harrington is not <em>gay</em>,” he told her slowly, like it was difficult for her to understand (which it apparently was, considering that the conversation was still happening).</p><p>“Well, he’s definitely not completely straight, either,” Max persisted. “I saw how he was looking at you on Sunday, and I saw how he was looking at you <em>today</em>. He wasn’t here just because he wanted to get to know El, or he would’ve gone with <em>us </em>instead of with <em>you</em>. He definitely has at <em>least </em>a crush on you.”</p><p>Billy huffed. “What the hell would <em>you</em> know about how he looks at me?” he demanded. “We’re friends. Friends look at each other – it would be weird if we didn’t.”</p><p>“I’m thirteen, Billy, not <em>blind</em>,” Max scoffed, and then muttered under her breath barely loud enough for him to hear it, “Apparently <em>you </em>are, though.”</p><p>Billy ignored her last statement, because that – no. She was definitely mistaken. “Well, keep your suspicions to yourself,” he told her. “Because nothing is ever going to happen, and we don’t need to be pissing anyone off here with rumors.”</p><p>Max grumbled her agreement, because she <em>had </em>learned in the past few weeks what was okay to be spoken about in public or around Neil, thankfully.</p><p>But Billy ignored her, thinking – <em>what if?</em></p><p>He knew that he was right – Harrington was straight, and definitely not interested in Billy as anything more than a friend. The guy was lonely, after all – he’d as much as admitted it himself the day before, when they’d been getting high and he talked about stepping down from his throne as ‘King Steve’. Whatever Max thought she saw was just a guy examining a newcomer, getting to know him – nothing more.</p><p>It <em>would </em>be nice if Steve was as attracted to Billy as Billy was to Steve. He briefly allowed himself to imagine kissing the other boy, stealing secret moments between themselves without anyone to see or spew hate at them for it. He imagined what Steve might look like sleeping, beside Billy on the bed, and waking him up with coffee in the mornings. He imagined Steve admitting to Billy some of the things <em>Billy </em>thought about when he was alone in bed. He thought about how Steve might like it.</p><p>He shoved those thoughts away a moment later, though. He could be friends with Steve. Friends were all he was <em>allowed </em>to be with Steve, because if he ever admitted to his attraction and growing feelings for the other boy, he would be left with nothing. He would be left with <em>worse </em>than nothing, because then Steve would know, and he wouldn’t want to be friends anymore. Maybe he wouldn’t tell anyone, because Max was right – Steve was nice. But surely he wouldn’t want to be around him, would think he might force his feelings on him at any moment, because that’s what straight people thought when they found out someone was gay.</p><p>He could never tell Steve, and he could never hope for the possibility of anything more than the usual friendship between guys.</p><p>It was a nice thought, though.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>My heart hurts for Billy. Luckily we know it's going to be okay. It just might take a little bit of time to get there.</p><p>I know nothing about drugs or smoking. I hope that didn’t translate into the fic, but if I got something wrong please let me know so I can fix it. (i.e. – do joints have ‘ends’ that you can flick away? Or is that just the cigarette butts? I am helpless. XD)</p><p>I was going to have them go see a horror movie, because then there could be arm-grabbing turning to hand holding, but the best one I saw that was released that year was Nightmare on Elm Street, but it was released November 9 and my timeline has them going to the mall on November 6 and I'm anal about weird things. Also upon reflection I thought that might be moving them too fast. I mean, it's been less than 48 hours since the monsters at this point and I don't want it <em>too</em> unrealistic. Also I thought of an idea for a scene to write out that needs to come <em>before</em> they get together, and then I saw that Red Dawn was released August 1984 and I thought Billy scoffing at high schoolers stopping a Russian invasion would be hilarious because, you know...Stranger Things 3. That's exactly what they do. XD</p><p>I also pondered making El and Max's friendship draw out longer, be a bit more stubborn, but then I thought about El finding out that Billy and Max are cool now, and I couldn't picture her holding onto a grudge when Billy has let go of it and he's the one who was mad at her. El's dislike for Max was more out of loyalty for Billy than actual dislike, so now that that's out of the way, I figured it would be too quick to write its own story. And thus, it became a bit of a side or background piece to the growing Harringrove relationship. Considering that the series is happening primarily through Billy's point of view, I figured it would be fine like this. <em>And</em> El finally got some new clothes. Win-win.</p><p>Anyway, enough rambling. I hope you liked it!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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